Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that's just not going to change any time soon. Thanks very much for reading and please review because I'd really love to hear from you!
Poor, Poor, Kadoma
Weakly lifting a hand in greeting Kadoma was treated to his brother's usual greeting which was a spine bruising slap to the back and a hard nookie that was guaranteed to mess up his hair so that it looked like he'd just stuck his finger in an electric socket. Then, true to form, he turned to send a charming, flirty smile in Mizuki's direction. "And who is this cutie you're with, squirt? No way this is your girlfriend."
"Actually, I am." Was Mizuki's reply, her tone of voice saying plainly that she wasn't nearly as thrilled to meet him as he seemed to think she should be. "I'm Mizuki Ashiya." She added, not about to say it was a pleasure to meet him since it definitely wasn't.
"Well what do you know. Way to go, kid. Maybe you are a Kadoma after all." Giving his brother another bruising slap on the back Takashi took Mizuki's reluctant hand to shake it, giving her a look over that she didn't appreciate in the least. "It's nice to meet you, Mizuki chan. I'm Takashi."
"So I gathered." Was her dry response as she tugged her hand free before turning to face Kadoma who blushed as she reached out to use her fingers to fix Kadoma's hair which looked like a bird's nest now. Raking her fingers through it she couldn't seem to get it to lie flat, the noogie had been that staticy.
"Thanks." Kadoma muttered, doing his best not to squirm as Ashiya fixed his hair. God but this was all so embarrassing. His brother would figure out somehow that Mizuki was really a boy and then his life would be over. And if it wasn't, he'd die of embarrassment anyway.
"Look at you, still blushing like a little girl over the smallest things." Was his older brother's smirking comment, shaking his dark head at his little brother. "Anyway, Mizuki chan, this is my best friend Machi, his girlfriend Akane and my girlfriend Hikaru. Guys, this is the squirt's girlfriend Mizuki chan."
Whistling under his breath Machi gave Mizuki a looking over that made Takashi's seem like a mere glance. "Well, well, nice one, kid. Never would have thought you had it in you."
"Hey!" Seeing the way Machi was looking at Mizuki, knowing the jerk the way he did and seeing Mizuki's reaction, Kadoma surprised everyone by shooting the older man a dark look. "Quit looking at Mizuki like that. You're making her uncomfortable." It was one thing to pick on him and another thing to pick on Ashiya. He might not compare to his brother but he wasn't half the sissy they all seemed to think he was.
"Whoa boy, looks like being at an all boy's school toughened you up a bit. And here we thought some guy would make you his girlfriend and sissy you up even more." Looking delighted at the idea Takashi put a restraining hand on Machi who was looking at his brother darkly. Girlie boy or not Shotaro was still his brother. No one was allowed to torment or kick his ass but him. And their other brothers of course.
Sending his brother looks that could kill Kadoma didn't bother to try and defend himself. If he spazzed out about it his brother and Machi would be all over him like starving jackals on a day old corpse. God, that was a disgusting image.
"Nice to meet you." Mizuki said as she deliberately gave the guys her back, turning to smile at the other two girls, ignoring the dark looks Machi's girlfriend was sending her way as she focused her smile at Takashi's girlfriend who smiled back, seeming nice enough.
"It's so nice to meet you too. Sho is a total sweetie. I used to baby-sit him when he was little." Hikaru responded, keeping a weary eye on Akane who she didn't like very much. When you got right down to it, she didn't like most of her boyfriend's friends. He was totally different when he was just with her but whenever he was with the guys, especially family members, Takashi always seemed to feel he had to act super macho. He definitely wasn't making the greatest impression on Shotaro's girlfriend either. And boy was she adorable, Hikaru thought, thinking that this Mizuki chan was almost as cute as Shotaro.
"So that's Takashi's kid brother, he doesn't look anything like a Kadoma." Was Akane's way of making nice as she narrowed her eyes in Mizuki's direction. She didn't mind Hikaru because it was so obvious the girl was only interested in Takashi but this Mizuki could be competition. Just Machi's type and who wouldn't dump a shrimp like that kid for her man.
"You're right, he's a lot better looking."
Both girls blinking in union they stared at Mizuki, Hikaru bursting out into delighted laughter while Akane's scowl deepened. "Oh I like you." Hikaru gushed, still chuckling as she grinned at her new friend. "You're just what Sho needs."
"What's so funny?" Machi wanted to know, having been too busy checking out the awesome stems of Shotaro's little girlfriend. Now those gorgeous legs were definitely wasted on the little twerp.
"Nothing." Was Akane's sullen reply.
Not liking the look on the girl's face Kadoma quickly piped up. "Anyway, we should be heading out now if we want to get to the carnival before the lines get unbearable." Plus, the sooner they went the sooner the others would leave and he and Mizuki could go back to the dorms where it was safe. No one hassled him or called him a sissy there. Well a few probably did behind his back but no one had the guts to say it to his face. His president and Kujou were quite strict in that area. Now they would have made much better brothers.
"Is it a very big carnival?" Hikaru wanted to know.
"My friends and I went last year and it's a nice sized one. We had a lot of fun." Mizuki answered, since taking them there had been her idea in the first place.
"So how far a walk is it from here?" Takashi wanted to know, jamming his hands into his pockets, pleased as could be. So far things were going pretty well and his brother really did have a girlfriend, which was a relief. Now he could go home and assure their dad that Shotaro really was okay where he was and didn't need to be brought home.
"Only a few blocks, about all I can manage in these heels." Mizuki joked, deciding to do her best to pretend like she didn't already hate Takashi for being such a lousy brother. "I kinda wasn't thinking when I decided to wear them today."
"True, but they do incredible things for you-" Whatever else Machi had been about to say was cut off as a hard punch was delivered to his shoulder. Turning Machi glared at Takashi. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"No flirting with my brother's girl, got it?" Was Takashi's response, a definite warning in his look. "Besides, the squirt's been taking karate right? Do you really want him to kick your ass in front of your girlfriend?" He added, to lighten the threat. Machi was his best friend and all but Shotaro outranked him as his brother.
"Like he could." Was Machi's snorted reply but he let it go as they started off towards the carnival, Mizuki and Shotaro leading the way as they did their best to pretend they both didn't want to show Machi just how much they'd learned in karate club.
Keeping Nakatsu restrained had not been easy but between the two of them Minami and Sano had managed to pull it off. They'd all managed to get near enough to hear most of the conversation and it had taken a great deal of skill for Sano not to let Nakatsu loose on that bastard Machi. As it was he was tempted to sneak up behind the bastard and see to it that the guy was never capable of turning his head to look at another girl's legs again.
"Why..why..why is Ashiya dressed like a girl?" Tennouji asked no one in particular, still reeling in shock from the reaction he'd had to seeing one of his men dressed up as a girl. Of course he'd seen Ashiya dressed up as a girl for that beauty pageant but this was different. Way different.
"I've never seen anything to indicate Ashiya and Kadoma are more than friends." Was Kujou's blunt and to the point statement. "If we continue to follow, we might learn why they're attempting to fool Kadoma's older brother into thinking Ashiya is a girl." Actually, he was pretty sure Ashiya was a girl but he kept that to himself. Everyone else but Sano didn't have the observation or intellectual skills to realize differently. That's why he wasn't upset about seeing Kadoma with Ashiya, because he'd stake his life that Ashiya was a girl who'd posed as a guy to get near Sano. Even if Ashiya was, in fact, a guy, it wouldn't change the fact that it wasn't hard to see that Mizuki was in love with the high jumper, not Kadoma. Now they needed to find out why the two were pretending otherwise.
"Think it could be because of that asshole big brother?" Minami asked, finally removing his hand from Nakatsu's mouth since the group they'd followed was far enough away.
"THAT SON OF A BITCH! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM FOR LOOKING AT MY MIZUKI THAT WAY!"
"SHUT UP!" Was everyone else's response to Nakatsu's outburst.
"How much do you know about Kadoma's family?" Minami added thoughtfully, raising his voice slightly to be heard over Nakatsu's ominous mutterings. "It almost seemed like the whole point of this visit was to confirm he had a girlfriend, like it was a big deal if he didn't."
"I've seen pictures, they all pretty much look like that older brother." Nodding his head thoughtfully Tennouji followed Minami's train of thought surprisingly well for someone who'd received countless blows to the head in his short life time. "So perhaps Kadoma felt he had to have one and Ashiya somehow ended up playing the part."
"Or volunteering." Sano muttered under his breath, knowing his roommate all too well.
"Well either way, we have to go after them!" Nakatsu announced, pumping his fist in the air. "Who's with me?" Turns out that for once, everyone was.
Once they arrived everyone opted to get something to eat and headed for the food booths for some lunch. Spotting a stall she'd eaten at last year with Nakatsu and Sano Mizuki gave it her seal of approval and everyone got into that line. When it was Mizuki's turn she gave her order than pulled her wallet out from her purse, intending to pay.
"I've got it." Kadoma said quietly, holding out the money to the cashier.
"But I can..." Shutting her mouth Mizuki remembered that she was a girl on a date here and in general, a girl expected her boyfriend to pay unless the relationship was very new, on the rocks or so old it didn't matter anymore. Opps.
"You haven't been letting her pay for stuff on your dates, have you, kid?" Takashi wanted to know, sending his brother a disapproving look.
Before Kadoma could come up with an explanation Mizuki rushed in to cover up her blunder. "It's my fault, really. I grew up in America and over there it's common for a couple to pay their share of the bill. Sometimes I forget that there are still gentlemen in the world like Shotaro who don't mind treating a girl every once in a while." Just for emphasis Mizuki slipped her arm into Kadoma's, beaming at him in what she hoped looked like an admiring gaze.
Watching his brother go as red as a tomato Takashi laughed, shaking his head at his brother's silliness. It was times like this that it was glaringly obvious which parent his little brother took after.
"So you're American?" Machi asked, an interested look on his face. He'd never dated a girl from the United States before and Akane was being a real drag, scowling and acting all possessive just because there was a cute girl with them. A very, very cute girl.
"Yup. Both my parents are Japanese and I cam over here to learn more about my culture and roots. It's been a really educational experience, not to mention a lot of fun."
"Hey, Sho, didn't you write home about a friend of yours from school who was from America?" Takashi asked, a considering look on his face as he tried to remember the guy's name. "I'm pretty sure you said his last name was Ashiya too."
"My twin brother." Mizuki blurted out, not stopping to think about the consequences of that little white lie. "That's how I met Shotaro, he's in the karate club with him at their school."
"You have a twin brother? That's so cool. What's his name? Do you guys look alike? Do you have any pictures?" Hikaru asked, thinking that with the right hair cut and no chest the girl probably could pass for a very pretty boy. Following that train of thought, since they were twins, this brother was bound to be super cute too.
"Uhm..Miroku." Was the only name Mizuki could think of that was close to her own name. She didn't know if Kadoma had called her by her first name in any of the letters and it would be better if she picked a name similar to her own so that she could laugh it off if her name was brought up. "And yeah...I have some pictures." Of myself as a guy, Mizuki thought to herself as she pulled out her wallet once more and pulling a picture out handed it over to Hikaru. "That's my brother with his roommate Izumi Sano and their best friend Shuichi Nakatsu."
"Oh my gosh, you guys so look exactly alike." Hikaru gushed as she held it over so that her boyfriend could get a better look. "I bet you two used to switch places all the time as kids."
"Yeah, until he got too manly to dress up like a girl anymore." Mizuki agreed, grinning for a whole other reason then the one they might think.
Leaning in to look out of curiosity Akane frowned, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "Hey, I know those guys from somewhere."
Paling slightly Mizuki just about dropped the food the man behind the stall had just handed her. Uh oh, picture had been bad idea. Very bad idea. "Really? From where?" Mizuki asked weakly, her mind whirling with possible explanations and scenarios.
"Yeah. These guys look a lot like those models from the "Pupa" ads!"
"Oh, that!" So relieved Mizuki was tempted to just sit down somewhere and heave a giant sigh of relief she forced herself to simply smile casually as she moved out of the way so that Takashi could retrieve his order from the front. "Yeah, they were the models in that ad. The photographer is a friend of the doctor at their school and when he caught sight of them he asked if they'd be in his shoot." So that wasn't exactly how it had happened but it worked.
"Wow, your brother's a model! Is he going to do more work or was that a one time deal?" Hikaru asked, taking her plate from Takashi with a quick smile of thanks before turning back to Mizuki.
"Well if Akiha asked him he might, I guess time will only tell." Mizuki said with a shrug, knowing in her gut that sooner or later the sugar fiend known as Akiha would drag her into another shoot with him, if only to get Sano to pose for him again. And who could blame him, Sano was just so photogenic but hated to be photographed even more, especially by Akiha.
"You should model yourself, you're even better looking than your brother there." Machi said smoothly, sending her a charming smile that came off so well practiced that Mizuki could easily see him practicing it in front of a mirror.
"Thanks."
"Lets go find somewhere to eat before we start holding up the line." Kadoma suggested, wishing that something would break off from an aircraft flying overhead and smush Machi like a bug. Even he had his limits and there was few people he disliked more than Machi. His brothers picked on him for fun, Machi did it out of sheer meanness.
"So this Akiha wasn't interested in using you as a model?" Akane began sweetly as they headed towards the picnic tables. "After all, you'd think he'd want to use twins since it would be so unusual."
"Well he asked but I'm trying to focus on my studies and club right now." Mizuki answered just as sweetly, feeling the beginnings of a cat fight coming on. Definitely not good considering her temper and the way the jerk Machi was riling it already. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in a chick fight but she supposed she was due. Guys fought with fists, girls tore each other to shreds with words. And they said women were the softer, nicer sex. Yeah right.
